25 September 2012

Clinique Chubby Stick (04 Mega Melon & 06 Woppin' Watermelon)

I snagged these from my mom's Clinique gift with purchases last week.  The Woppin' Watermelon comes in the pink version and the Mega Melon comes in the nude version.

They're completely sheer tinted on my skin (as you can see from my swatches below), and invisible on my pigmented lips.
They apply very smoothly and seem moisturizing, but within the hour, they were drying my lips out.
Verdict:  Buy a lip balm instead.
natural lighting
with flash

- M

8 September 2012

What's Inside M's Carry On Bag?

It's a party on the bandwagon!
To see what's in my make up bag and toiletry bag, read my post here.

I bought a Rebecca Minkoff MAC Bombe from their end of Summer online sale.  I will be using this bag as my carry on - it hold my life without looking like it.  It holds EVERYTHING that's listed below.



  • iPhone 4
  • travel itinerary
  • sushi tray print zipper bag - holds my money, passport & nexus card
  • 1 L bag of liquids and gels
  • Nine West wallet
  • iPhone charger
  • SONY battery charger
  • Clean & Clear oil blotting paper
  • Marc by Marc Jacobs sunglasses
  • H&M gold bow hair tie
  • Hello Kitty compact mirror (from Sephora)
  • winnie the pooh zipper pouch - holds my coins
  • SONY camera
  • Rebecca Minkoff MAC Bombe in Luggage

Close-up of all of my liquids and gels:

  • Bath and Body Works hand sanitizer in Island Margarita
  • Lip Ice lip balm SPF15 in Lemon
  • Lancome Rouge in Love lipstick in 322M Corail in Love (my review)
  • CHANEL Rouge Coco Shine in 57 Adventure
  • EOS lip balm in Strawberry Sorbet (my review)
  • Neutrogena pure & free baby sunblock SPF60+ (my review)
  • container of insect bite balm
  • Travalo with Marc Jacobs Oh, Lola! (my review)
  • Travalo with Marc Jacobs Daisy
  • L'OCCITANE Cherry Princess hand cream - limited edition
  • LUSH Tea Tree Water (my review)

- M

7 September 2012

M is beaching herself in Mexico! (What's in my travel make up bag and toiletry bag?)

I'm leaving on a 7 am flight to Mexico this weekend, where I will be drinking unspecified liquids and beaching myself.
With that being said, all aboard the What's in my bag bandwagon!
Fair warning that this will be a really long post.
the motherload
I usually carry my make up in the Angry Little Girls bag, but since I'm going to a relaxing beach resort, I'm only bringing the essentials in my NUXE bag.
make up bag (side 1)
make up bag (side 2)


 These are the contents of my make up bag:

  • Real Techniques Buffing Brush - it's part of the Core Collection (my review)
  • Real Techniques Blush Brush (my review)
  • Sigma E30 brush
  • NARS smudgeproof eyeshadow base
  • Covergirl Lash Blast Fusion mascara in Black (water-resistant version)
  • TARTE 12-hour Amazonian Clay matte blush in Exposed (my review)
  • MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural in Medium (my review)
  • Burberry eyeshadow in Rosewood (my review)
  • QUO wedge sponge
  • CHANEL Correcteur Perfection Concealer in B20 Beige Ivoire
  • Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On eye pencil in Yeyo
  • YSL Dessin Des Sourcils eyebrow pencil in 2 Dark Brown (my review)
I carry my bath and shower items in a thick plastic ziplock bag that was the packaging for one of my mom's undershirts.  I wish we didn't throw all of these bags out before I discovered how amazing they are for travel!

bath & shower bag (side 1)
bath & shower bag (side 2)
 These are the contents of my bath & shower bag:

  • Philosophy Birthday shower gel (last year's Sephora Beauty Insider complimentary gift - I have about a quarter leftover)
  • GoToob 3 fl oz container filled with Dove Shampoo (I got my container from London Drugs for $10 CAD) - I want to bring my LUSH Godiva solid shampoo but I'm afraid the hot weather might melt it
  • Philosophy Purity 3 fl oz (my review)
  • The Body Shop Coconut Body Scrub inside an empty LUSH Love Lettuce container
  • LUSH Bubble Bar - Pop in the Bath
  • LUSH Bubble Bar - Christmas Eve (from the holiday 2011 collection)
  • LUSH Bubble Bar - Dorothy 
  • LUSH Bubble Bar - Comforter (the pink powder, lol)
    I'm planning to fully utilize the huge jacuzzi bath tub, hahaha
This Angry Little Girls make up bag holds tons of stuff!  For this trip, I'm using it to hold all of my face products and general toiletries.

sneak peek
These are the contents of my face products and general toiletries:
  • Degree MotionSense deodorant in Fresh Energy (I only use deodorant when I go to the gym, but decided to bring this just in case.  Plus, it's a small sample size)
  • Bioderma Sébium Pore Refiner (my review)
  • Avène Thermal Spring Water
  • My Tagalongs container filled with Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel (my review)
  • My Tagalongs container filled with OFF! Family Care Eucalyptus Lotion 
  • Gillette Venus Embrace shaver
  • La Roche-Posay Anthelios Ultra-Fluid Lotion sunscreen (my review)
  • La Roche-Posay Effaclar A.I. spot treatment lotion (my review)
  • Q-tips travel pack
  • Soap travel container of cosmetic cotton pads
  • Clean & Clear oil blotting paper
  • Tempo tissues in Jasmine scent
  • Container filled with Bioderma Sensibio/Créaline H2O Solution Micellaire (my review)
  • Gillette Satin Care shave gel in the dry skin formula
  • Crest toothpaste (sample size)
  • Toothbrush travel container with complimentary Crest toothbrush from dentist visit - I use an electric at home
  • Colgate floss (sample size)
  • Zwilling J. A. Henckels travel manicure kit - website photo & details (it's the black rectangle on the bottom of the photo, lol)
    I snagged the kit from my grandparents who got it when they lived in Austria.

And as a bonus, here are my body sunscreens and insect repellents! LOL
all wrapped up!
The contents of my body sunscreens and insect repellent bag:

  • Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Body Mist Sunblock SPF 100+ (my review)
  • OFF! Skintastic for Kids
  • Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Body Mist Sunblock SPF 30
  • Neutrogena Wet Skin Kids
  • Burt's Bees After Sun Soother (my review)
  • OFF! Family Care Eucalyptus Lotion 
  • Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Liquid sunscreen SPF 55 (my review)
  • Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Water Light Liquid sunscreen SPF 60 (my review)


As you can see, I really go to town with individually wrapping EVERYTHING.  I go with the assumption that anything can explode or leak.  It's always better to take the extra time to mitigate the risk of an explosion or leak - In the case when there is one, you'll be glad you took the initiative.

I packed everything at the beginning of this week, even though I'm not leaving until tomorrow morning.  During the past week, I only used these products.  This way, I knew right away whether or not I'm missing anything that I may want to bring with me.

Hope this will help you in your packing!

- M

6 September 2012

MUFE Rouge Artist Natural (N45 Red) - A not so scary red

When I saw the redness of this lipstick at the cash register, I was taken back.  But, it's not every day that Sephora Canada actually offers a decent Beauty Insider perk product.  I figured that I could always use a red lipstick, so why not.
To Sephora's standards, this product is generous, considering it is almost half of the full size.  This is 0.05 oz.  The full size of the Rouge Artist Natural is $22 CAD for 0.12 oz.
Shade N45 Red
I would classify this as a sheer lipstick with good pigmentation.  It applies very smoothly, almost like a glaze.  With one swipe, it looks like a sheer lipstick.  With three layers, it looks more like a lipstick.
three swipes
I like this lipstick more than expected!  It's really flattering on yellow skin tones, and makes my teeth look really white even though I wouldn't say it's a blue-toned red.

If you're interested, go redeem 100 points from your local Sephora now!

- M

5 September 2012

M's try at Glossybox Canada

I've been hearing about all of the beauty boxes for a while, especially from the UK youtubers and bloggers (with whom I am obsessed).  I was happy to hear that Canadian girls had a chance at the same types of perks, but it's disgusting to see the calibre of products in Canadian boxes, particularly, those that are amazing in the USA and UK (ahem, Glossybox).  You must watch this youtube video by kokolaroo - it's an amazing rant hahaha.
UPDATE:  The Glossybox USA August 2012 is almost $100 USD in value, including a full sized Illamasqua nail varnish and a full sized Ellis Faas lipstick.  The Canadian box is only $6 less than the USA box (USA is $21 USD per month)... but, the value difference between the two is ridiculous.

With all that being said, the cat still wants to be killed by curiosity.  It's $15 CAD per month but I paid $13.50 CAD for mine on August 8th (google for first box coupon code - I used glossy10).  I just wanted one box, so I cancelled my subscription as soon as this August one shipped; before they charged for September.

I just received my August 2012 Canadian Glossybox yesterday morning.  Yes, you read right... it's September - Why the fuck am I receiving it now?  Apparently, everyone receives it nearing the end of the month or in the next month.  According to their facebook page, their wimpy excuse is there's a lot of ship.  You wish you could see my face right now.

Alike everyone else, I love the packaging.
Nice greeting.
Included products.
I can see this sitting in my bathroom for a while, waiting for the rare occasion that I need a spritz of hairspray.
Perfect, I'll bring these to my trip to Mexico next week.
UPDATE:  It's perfumed as fuck and leaves major film.
Formulation is super creamy.  Nice neutral pink.
Too bad the bullet fell out the moment I opened it - I wrote a complaint email to Glossybox right away.
UPDATE:  Glossybox responded to my complaint email and said that they were sad if I wished to cancel and if I sent them a picture of the faulty lipstick, they would send me a new one.
  1. I said in my initial email that I had already cancelled.  Even if I didn't, a simple glance at my account would show that I had cancelled.
  2. They should send a replacement regardless.  Even if mine wasn't already faulty, I could easily lie and rip it out prior to picture-taking.  

meh, but I prefer this non-existent colour payoff powder to the disgusting gold eyeliner I've been seeing in other versions of the box.
I'm a mask addict, so this is good.
Shit.
Shit.
Let me know if you have a subscription to Glossybox or any other beauty boxes.  Did you receive anything different from mine?

- M

4 September 2012

REVIEW: LUSH Solid Shampoo Bar in Godiva

Lush Godiva Shampoo Bar
Three weeks ago, I picked up a Godiva solid shampoo from Lush.  I've been using it as my only shampoo since then, and I absolutely love it.

If you're interested in its quantitative ingredients:



Anyone who frequently travels knows the pains of staying within airport security requirements in regards to liquids.  For a girl, trying to shove everything into one of those plastic zip bags sucks major ass.  So, being able to eliminate liquid -form shampoo is beyond awesome.  Plus, these solid shampoo bars barely weigh anything and take up as much room as a wallet.

When I went into the Lush store, I was strategic in requesting assistance from the sales associate with the thinnest and finest hair.  I have a lot of hair, but my individual hair strands are extremely fine and thin.  I wanted the opinion and recommendation from someone who knows what it is like to have fine hair - Unless you have this type of hair, you will not fully understand what it requires.
I told the girl that I had fine hair that tends to get weighed down easily by even the least amount of product.  I never use anything more than two drops of argan oil in my hair - no hair sprays, no shine sprays, no nothing.  I told her that I wanted a shampoo that was going to be able to clean my hair well without stripping or extreme clarification, yet not too moisturizing where I would have product buildup.  I needed a shampoo that was moisturizing enough for daily shampooing (I wash my hair every day).  And, the cherry on top of my long list of fussy requirements, it had to be a good bang for my buck - I must be happy with it throughout all four seasons (it cannot be one that is perfect for hot weather but not cold/dry weather).

Smell:
It smells very strongly of jasmine.  I love jasmine scents, so it's fine for me.

How I use it:
After I wet my hair and hands in the shower, I rub the solid shampoo several times in my palm (a few swipes is enough).  Then, I put the amount of shampoo that was rubbed in my palm to my hair.  Afterwards, I just shampoo as I routinely do.  It lathers really well.

How I store it:
As mentioned in the post where I hauled Godiva, I store it in a square tin that's meant for their body melts.  It was $3.95 CAD.  The solid shampoo rounds were a bit oversized for the shampoo tins, haha.  According to online reviews, the Lush shampoo tins are horrible at sticking onto the solid shampoos - I didn't have this problem with the Lush body melt tin.  The key is to make sure you don't get water into the tin - I keep mine away from the shower spray, and my solid shampoo is only damp when going back in, not soaking.

Verdict:
As stated above, I love this solid shampoo.  It's a great shampoo that is able to fulfil my entire long list of preferences, and is perfect for travel.  According the the sales associate, each solid shampoo bar is supposed to last 80 washes, so, the thing is going to last forever.  Personally, I think $10.95 CAD for 2.5 months' worth   is pretty good - it would last ever long for those two do not wash their hair daily.

2 September 2012

M went to Sephora to get her VIB Birthday Perk

I went to the mall yesterday to pick up my annual Beauty Insider Birthday Perk from Sephora.  On the way, I made a quick detour in The Body Shop.

At Sephora:
Fresh Sugar Kisses Mini Lip Duo Birthday Pack (complimentary)
Fresh Birthday Pack ingredients
Hello Kitty Compact Mirror ($7 CAD on sale)
Sephora Professional Cream Eyeshadow #25 Brush ($9 CAD on sale)
MUFE Rouge Artist Natural in N45 Red (a generous 100 point perk at 0.05 oz - full size bullet is 0.12 oz)
N45 Red
At The Body Shop:
They were having a promotion where most of the items in the store were $30 CAD for 4.  I have a Love Your Body loyalty points card, so I get an additional 10% discount.  In total, my purchase was $27 CAD before taxes - I had $42 CAD in savings!
Coconut Body Scrub 200 ml
Coconut Body Scrub
Olive Body Scrub 300 ml
Olive Body Scrub
Olive Shower Gel 750 ml (I got one and the boy got one)
Hope everyone's enjoying their (long) weekend!
- M